. >> reporter: mike dickinson works for noble energy, which is doubling its production in weld county. this oil field stretches from colorado into wyoming. in 2008, it produced 83,000 barrels of oil, yet this year it is expected to reach nearly ten million barrels. how different is the technology that we're seeing here today versus what you were doing out here a couple of years ago? >> it's unrecognizable today compared to what we were doing just two or three years ago. >> reporter: oil companies used to mainly drill vertical wells, hitting one pool of oil. but now they are rapidly converting to horizontal wells up to a mile long and combining them with fracking operations which split open rocks, releasing oil once considered out of reach. and one drilling rigs can now install multiple wells in one location, making it more cost- efficient. a horizontal well produces seven to ten times more oil than a vertical well. >> today, we're not running any vertical rigs, and we're running eight horizontals. >> reporter: so this really is the future of what you're doing out here. >> it is. >> re